Sewing machine



Sept. 3, 1929. J. R. MOFFATT SEWING MACHINE* Filed Jan. 9, 1922 sept, 1929 J. R. MoFFAT'r 1,726,853

SEWING MACHINE Y Filed Jan. 9, 1922 e sheets-sheet 2 J. R. MOFFATT 1,72 6,853

sept. 3, 1929.

SEWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 9, 1922- 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept. 3, 1929.

J. R. MoFFA-rT sswnw MACHINE Filed Jan. 9, 19221 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 lSEP3, 1929 J. R. MOFFATT 1,726,853

SEWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 9. 1922 6 Sheets-Sheerl 5 Sept. 3, 1929. .1. R. MOFFTT SEWING uAcHmE Filed Jam` 9,' 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

NTED STATES PATENT OFFHCE.

JAMES E. MOFFA'IT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOS, ASSIGNOR TO UNION SPECIAL MACHL'NE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS,

SEWING MACHINE.

Application filed January 9, 1922.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in sewing machines, and more particularly to a sewing machine wherein the needle may be moved laterally for forming zigzag stitches.

An object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine with means for vibrating the needle laterally to form zigzag stitches, and devices which are operated from the means for shifting the needle laterally for shifting the working position of the looper to correspond with the lateral shifting of the needle.

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide a sewing machine with means for shift ing the working position of the needle and the looper, and with means for suspending the shifting movements of said needle and looper whereby straight-away or zigzag stitches may be produced at will.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine of the above type wherein the lateral shifting movements of the needle and looper are suspended by disconnecting said needle and looper from the shifting means.

A. still further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above type with means for holding said needle and looper from shifting laterally when disconnected from the shifting means.

These and other objects will in part be ob vious and will in part be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of the invention- Figure l is a view partly in front eleva` tion and partly in longitudinal section showing a sewing machine embodying my improvements Fig. 2 is a. view of the machine from the rear; l

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a sectional view on the line L /i of i? 2, certain of the parts beneath the work support being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 5 is a sectional'view on the line 5 5 of Fig. t;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the means for shifting laterally the working position of the looper;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 8;

Serial No. 527,932.

Fig. 8 is a view from the front of the machine showing a portion of the means for shifting the looper laterally, the looper being positioned for cooperation with the needle and at the left-hand end of its zigzag stroke, and

Fig. 9 is a similar View but showing the looper positioned for cooperation with the needle when at the right-hand end of its zigzag stroke.

In carrying out the invention, I have provided a needle which is mounted so that the same may be moved laterally for producing zigzag stitches. This is accomplished by mounting the needle in the needle bar which reciprocates in a needle bar gate, and the gate is capable of being oscillated by means which may be connected to or disconnected from a constantly vibrating arm. Cooperating with the needle beneath the work support is a threaded looper which is preferably set so as to move in a plane at right angles to the line of feed. This threaded looper is oscillated about a fixed center. The oscillating mechanism for the looper includes devices which may be shifted so as to change the working position of the looper to correspond with the lateral shifted position of the needle so that the needle and the looper in both of its extreme lateral positions are timed whereby the looper crosses the needle on the same line and thus with certainty enters a needle thread loop. In other words, the looper will take the needle thread loop at exactly the same height at each end of the zigzag position, thus reducing the liability of the skipping of stitches.

rlhe means for shifting the working position of the needle and the looper laterally may be adjusted for varying` the length of the zigzag stitches. The needle and looper may also be disconnected from the lateral shifting means for producing straight-away stitching and devices are provided for holding the needle and the looper from shifting laterally while straight-away stitching is being produced.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, I have shown the invention as applied to a sewing machine forI forming straight-away and zigzag stitches of the type illustrated in the Patent Number 1,255,802, granted D. S. Seymour, February 5, 1918. Said machine includes a needle l which is, carried by a needle bar 2 which in turn is mounted to reciprocate in a swinging gate 3. The needle bar is reciprocated by a needle lever 4 connected by a link 5 to the needle bar. Said needle leveris oscillated by an eccentric strap 6 which cooperates with an eccentric 7 on the main shaft 8. The needle bar gate 3 as shown in Fig. 5 is pivoted at 9 and is lli provided with an arm 10 by which the needle bar gate may be swung about its pivotal support. The arm 10 is connected by a link 11 to a depending arm 12 carried by a shatt 13 mounted in rear of the overhanging arm oi the machine 4 and journaled in bearing brackets carried by said overhanging arm. Mounted on the shaft 13 is a second depending arm 14. Loosely mounted on the shat't 13 is an arm 15. Said arm 15 is connected to a link 16 and the link in turn is connected to a ball stud mounted tor adjustment in aslotted forked lever 17. This slotted forked lever 17 is pivotally supported at its upper end by the overhanging arm. Said forked lever at its lower end straddles a cam or eccentric carried by a stub sha-ft which is rotated by a gear wheel 18. Said gear Wheel 18 is in turn rotated by a gear wheel 19 on the main shatt 8. rlhe arms 14 and 15 are adapted to be connected together by means ol' a bar 20. Said bar 2O projects laterally from a collar 21 fixed to a rod 22 which slides treely in a sleeve portion ot the arm 14. Said rod is normally torced downwardly so as to disconnect the arms. The rod 22 may be raised so as to connect the arms by means of a support 23 on which a roller 24 journaled in bearings at the lower end of the rod 22 bears. lWhen the support 23 is raised to the position shown in Fig. 2, the rod 22 is raised so that the bar 2O connects the arm 14 with the arm 15. lhen the support 23 is lowered, then a suitable vspring forces the rod 22 downwardly and disconnects the arm 14 from the arm 15. The arm is continuously vibrated by means or the link 16 and the forked lever 17 so that when the arm 14 is connected to the arm 15, the shaft 13 will be oscillated and this in turn will impart vibrations to the needle bar, thus causing the needle to form zigzag stitches. llhen, however, these arms are disconnected one from the other, then the oscillations et the arm 14 cease and the needle will 'form straight-away stitching. l/Vhen the parts are disconnected, a lf-shaped projection 25 on the lower face or the bar 2O engages a similar V-shaped recess in the bracket 26 and this recess is so positioned relative to the projection that the needle will be positioned at the eXtreme outer end or the zigzag stroke, or at the lett-hand end oit the zigzag stroke as viewed from the front of the machine. ln other words, the needle when disconnected 'from its vibrating mechanism forms a straight line or stitching, and when connected to the vibrating` mechanism forms masses zigzag stitching which extends to the right ot the straight-away stitching as viewed in Fig. 1. The support 23 is raised by means of a lever 27 which is pivoted at 28 and is provided with a forked arm engaging a screw 29 threaded into the standard 30 on which the support 23 is mounted. A spring 31 is mounted on the standard 30 and'bears against a collar 32 thereon and normally operates to move the support 23 downwardly depressing the inner end of the lever 27. A swinging lever 33 pivoted at 34 may have its inner end 35 swung beneath the inner end of the lever 27 and thus hold the support 23 raised and the two arms 14 and 15 locked together. llfhen it is desired to do straightaway stitching, the locking lever 33 is thrown to one side and this releases the lever 27. The lever 27 may be connected to a treadle and the operator can control said lever through the treadle so as to make Zigor straight-away stitches at will. The above parts are all substantially thesame as those shown in the Seymour patent and it is not thought that further description is necessary. The present invention is directed particularly to means tor shitting laterally the working position of the loopery so as to correspond to the lateral shitting or the needle, which looper shitting means is so constructed that whatever the lateral adjustment or" the needlemay be, the looper will be properly positioned tor cooperating with the needle, and whenever said needle is disconnected from its shifting means for straight-away stitching, the looperI will be held against any lateral shifting or the working position thereof. Cooperating with the needle beneath the work support is a threaded looper 36. Said threaded looper 36 is mounted on a looper carrier 37. Said looper carrier 37 is pivoted at 38 to a looper support 39. Said looper support 39 is provided with a forked arm 40 which cooperates with an eccentric on the main shaft 8 and operates to impart a lateral or needle avoiding movement to the looper. Said looper is mounted so as to oscillate in a plane at right angles to the line of feed and the oscillations are imparted to the looper by means ot a link 41. Said link 41 is pivoted at its righthand end to a ball stud 42 carried by a lever 43 tulcrumed on a pin 44 intermediate its ends. The pin 44 is threaded into an arm 45 which is pivotally supported by the fulcrum pin 46 fixed to the trame. The arm is connected at its upper end by means ot a link 47 to the needle lever extension 48. As the needle lever vibrates, it will rock the arm 45 and this will cause the tulcrum pin 44 for the lever 43 to move bodily back and forth. The lever 43 is connected by a pin 49 to a link 50. The link 50 is pivotally con` nected to an arm 51- fixed to a shaft 52 mounted in bearings 53 and 54 carried by CII suitable brackets mounted on the bed plate of the machine. The shaft 52 carries a second arm 55 which is provided with a radial slot 5G in which a ball stud 57 is capable of being adjusted toward and from the center of the shaft 52. A link 58 is pivotally connected at its lower end to the ball stud 57. Said link 58 at its upper end is pivoted to a ball stud 59 carried by an arm 60 which is clamped to the shaft 13.

lt will thus be seen that as the shaft 13 is oscillated, the link 58 will be moved endwise and this will impart oscillations to the shaft 52 and through the arms 51 and 50 irnpart oscillations to the pin 49 at the lower end of the lever 43. As the needle bar is shifted from one lateral position to the other, the pin 49 will be correspondingly shifted from one set position to another. Let us assume for a moment that the arm 45 is a fixed arm. It will readily be seen that as the pin 49 is shifted it will turn the lever 43 so as to move the looper from one position to another on its pivotal support 38. So it is that during the operation of the machine, the looper receives its normal oscillations through the link 41 which causes the looper to move into the needle thread loop and out of the needle thread loop. The shifting of the pin 49 will, however, change the working position, that is, the oscillating position of the looper, and always cause said looper to cross the needle at the same height or point, regardless of whether the needle is at one end or the othery end of its lateral vibration. nasmuch as the looper always crosses the needle at the same height, there is no liability of skipping stitches, and the needle may be given a relatively long lateral vibration for making relatively long zigstitches without any liability of skipping stitches. By adjusting the ball stud 57 in the slot 56, the lateral throw of the working position of the looper may be varied and so a proper timing may be obtained between the looper and the needle. The amount of vibration imparted to the needle may be varied by adjusting the connection of the link 16 to the forked lever 17. This adjustmentwill vary the amount of oscillation imparted to the shaft 18. lnasmuch as the working position of the looper is shifted through the connection with the arm 60 carried by the shaft 13, it will readily be seen that the working position of the looper will be shifted greater extent when the needle shifted a greater extent so that no matter what may be the length of the lateral throw of the needle, the shifting of the working position of the looper will always correspond to said lateral throw of the needle.

rihen again, when the machine is set for straight-away stitching, the shaft 13 is disconnected from the arm 15 which continues to vibrate, and. when disconnected from said arm, it is locked or held in a fixed position by means of the V-shaped projection 25 engaging the corresponding V-shaped recess in the bracket 26. This locks the shaft 13 against any oscillation. Inasmuch as the working position of the looper is shifted latterally by the oscillation of the shaft 18, when said shaft is locked against movement to hold the needle from shifting laterally while straight-away stitching, the looper will likewise be locked so that its working position cannot shift.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A sewing machine for forming both straight away and zigzag stitches, including in combination a feeding mechanism, a needle, a looper cooperating therewith having its loop taking and loop shedding movements in a line substantially at right angles to the line of feed, an actuating device, and means connected thereto for shifting said needle and looper back and forth across the line of feed without disturbing their cooperative relation for forming zigzag stitches, and means under the control of the operator for disconnecting the shifting means from its Iactuating device for suspending the operations of the needle and looper shifting means.

2. A sewing machine for forming both straight away and zigzag stitches, including in combination a feeding mechanism, a needle, a looper cooperating therewith having its loop taking and loop shedding movements in a line substantially at right angles to the line of feed, an actuating device, and means connected thereto for shifting said needle and looper back and forth across the line of feed without disturbing their cooperative relation for forming zigzag stitches, means under the control of the operator for disconnecting the shifting means from its actuating device for suspending the operations of the needle and looper shifting means, and means adapted to be connected to the needle and looper shifting means for locking the same in a fixed position when disconnected from said actuating means.

3. A sewing machine including in. combination, a needle, a needle bar, a needle gate in which said needle bar reciprocates, a shaft connected to said needle gate, an arm carried by said shaft, a continuouslv vibrating member, and means for connecting the same to the said arm for oscillating the gate and for disconnecting the saine from said arm for suspending the vibrations of thel gate, a looper, means for oscillating said looper for causing the same to cooperate with the needle, and devices connected with said vshaft for varying the working position of the looper to correspond with the lateral shifted positions of the needle.

et. A sewing` machine including in combination, a needle, a needle bar, a needle gate in which said needle bar reciprocates, a shaft connected to said needle gate, an arm carried by said shaft, continuously vibrating means adapted to be connected to said arm for oscillating the gate, a looper, means for oscillating said looper for causing the same to cooperate with the needle, devices connected with said shaft for varying the working position of the looper to correspond with the lateral shifted positions of the needle, manually controlled devices for connecting said continuously vibrating member to said arm or disconnecting the same therefrom for forming zigzag or straight-away stitches at will.

5. A. sewing machine including in combination, a needle, a needle bar, a needle gate in which said needle bar reciprocates, a shaft connected to said needle gate, an arm carried by said shaft, continuously vibrating means adapted to be connected to said arm for oscillating the gate, a looper, means for oscillating said looper for causing the saine tocooperate with the needle, devices connected with said shaft for varying the working position of the looper to correspond with the lateral shifted positions of the needle, manually controlled devices for connecting said continuously vibrating member to said arm or disconnecting the same therefrom for forming zigzag or straight-away stitches at will, and means adapted to be connected to said arm when said arm is disconnected from the continuously vibrating member for preventing the needle bar and looper from shifting laterally while forming straight-away stitches.

G. A sewing machine including in combination, a needle, means for vibrating the needle laterally including an oscillated member, manually controlled devices adapted to be connected thereto for shifting said needle laterally, a. thread carrying looper cooperating with said needle, a link connected to said thread carrying looper for oscillating the same, a lever to which said link is pivoted, means connected to the lever for vibratingl the same for oscillating the looper, a shiftable fulcrum for said lever, and means connected to said oscillated member for vibrating the needle laterally for shifting the fulcrum of said lever whereby the working position of the looper is shifted to correspond to the lateral vibrations of the needle.

7. A sewing machine including in combination, a needle, means for vibrating said needle laterally including an oscillated member, a thread carrying looper cooperating with said needle, a link connected to said looper for operating the same, a lever pivoted at its upper end to said link, means connected to said lever intermediate its ends for oscillating the same, a shiftable fulcrum at the lower end of said lever, a cross shaft, said cross shaft being connected to said shiftable fulcrum for shifting the same, and a link connecting said cross shaft with said oscillated member whereby the working position of the looper is shifted laterally to correspond to the lateral shifted positions of the needle.

8. A sewing machine including in combination, a needle, means for vibrating said needle laterally including an oscillated member, a thread carrying looper cooperating with said needle, a link connected to said looper for operating the same, a lever pivoted at its upper end to said link, means connected to said lever intermediate its ends for oscillating the same, a shiftable fulcrum at the lower end of said lever, a cross shaft, said cross shaft being connected to said shiftable fulcrum for shifting the same, and a link connecting said cross'shaft with said oscillated member whereby the working position of the looper is shifted laterally to correspond to the lateral shifted positions of the needle, said connection between the cross shaft and the oscillated member being adjustable whereby said looper may' be pro-perly timed to cooperate with the needle.

9. ln a sewing machine for forming both straight away and zigzag stitches, the comlbination of a needle, a looper cooperating therewith, means for shifting said needle and looper back and forth in a direction at right angles to the line of feed withoutdisturbing their cooperative relation for forming stitches, devices for actuating said shifting means, and means for connecting and disconnecting said actuating means to said shifting means without stopping the machine.

10. ln a sewing machine for forming both straight away and zigzag stitches, the coinbination of a needle, a looper cooperating therewith, means for shifting said needle and looper back and forth in a. direction at right angles to the line of feed without disturbing their cooperative relation for forming stitches, devices for actuating said shifting means, means for connecting and di"- Vconnecting said actuating' means to said shifting means without stopping the machine, and means for automatically locking said shifting` means when said actuating means therefor is disconnected so that said needle will be held to reciprocate in a fixed position .during straight away stitching.

1l. A sewing machine for forming straight away and zigzag stitches including a feeding mechanism, a needle, a threaded looper,

.means for supporting said looper whereby the same may be oscillated in a. plane substantially at right angles to the line of feed,

llO

means for oscillating the looper, means for giving said looper a needle avoiding` movement, means for shifting the needle in a direction at right angles to the line of feed and for shifting the Working position of the looper so that their cooperative relation for forming stitches is not disturbed, and means under the control of the operator for simultaneously suspending the needle shifting means and the looper shifting means.

l?. In a sewing machine for forming both straight away and zigzag stitches, the comhina-tion or a needle7 a feeding mechanism, a. looper mount-ed for oscillation in a plane substantially at right angles to the line of l feed, means for shifting the needle in a direction at right angles to the line of feed, means for giving said looper a needle avoiding movement, means for shifting the oscillating position of the looper When the needle is shifted, so that the cooperative relation of the needle and looper for forming stitches is not disturbed, devices for actuating said shifting means, and means for connecting and disconnecting` said actuating means to the shifting means Without stopping' the machine.

13. A sewing machine for forming straight away and zigzag stitches including a feeding mechanism, a needle, means for vibrating the needle laterally substantially at right angles to the line of feed, a threaded loopei, means for giving the looper a needle avoiding movement and for oscillating the looper on its support in a plane substantially at right angles to the line oic feed, said means for oscillating the looper including devices for causing said looper to move in a predetermined path when making straight awayY stitches and for changing the character of the path when the machine is making zigzag' stitches whereby the cooperative relation between the needle and looper remains unchanged.

ln testimony whereof, I aiix mv SiO-nature.

JAMES n. MoFFiTT. 

